1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for the production of flexible pouches each possessing a sealed product-containing pocket and incorporating an integral collar-shaped structure located externally of the pocket to enable suspending of the pouch from a support. More specifically, the method contemplates the sequential in-line production or manufacture of such flexible pouches which are essentially constituted from a sealable, flexible packaging material and which may consist of either a single-layer film material or of a multi-layered laminate so as to enable the containment in the pouches of the most varied types of products possessing widely different properties. In addition to the foregoing, the invention is also directed to the provision of a novel flexible pouch having a sealed product-containing pocket and incorporating an integral collar-shaped structure which is produced by the inventive method.
In the packaging technology, and especially the aspect thereof which is directed to methods of producing flexible pouches each containing a product in a sealed pocket, and which incorporate physical structure for enabling such pouches to be suspended; for example, for display purposes, such as hangers, apertured pouch extensions, loops or collar-like structures or the like, these kinds of pouches have found widespread acceptance in widely differing commercial and industrial applications. Ordinarily, in many instances, flexible pouches have been produced from thermoplastic sheet or web materials which, upon occasion, depending on the intended use and product stored therein were adapted to be foil-lined or laminated in order to provide sealed liquid-impervious pockets for the containment of fluid or flowable products, such as ketchup, mustard, relish or the like; or a pourable product such as granulated or powdered sugar, salt, pepper or the like. Other types of flexible pouch constructions may be constituted from laminates, generally known in the packaging trade as paper/poly/foil/poly composites; ink/paper/PE extrusion/foil/HSC (heat seal Coating) polyblend or cellophane/adhesive/polyethylene laminates, among numerous other types of packaging materials which are customized in their properties in correlation with the particular type of use for which they are intended.
However, although the most widely varying types of pouches which are constituted from sealable, flexible packaging materials and which incorporate sealed product-containing pockets and loop, suspension apertures or collar-like suspension structure have been designed and employed in commerce and industry, current methods of production for such pouches have generally been relatively complex and expensive through the need for having to utilize customized and not readily adjustable manufacturing equipment which necessitates physical production steps in the manufacture which do not readily lend themselves to the so-called sequential "in-line" type of manufacture desired for such flexible pouches. The various currently employed manufacturing methods and machines also frequently entail the waste of relatively large quantities of packaging material caused by trimming and discarding portions of such material during production of the pouches which, in view of the extremely high production volumes for such pouches, resultingly leads to uneconomical manufacturing procedures in consideration of the considerable amounts of expensive packaging material being wasted and discarded.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Although numerous types of methods and flexible pouches produced by such methods considered herein are known in the packaging technology, these are generally complex in nature and/or uneconomical or, at least deemed expensive from the practical standpoint of having to mass produce such flexible pouches in extremely large quantities, frequently ranging into many millions of pouches for any specific kind.
Thus, in essence, Beck U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,991 discloses a flexible package constituted of two superimposed plastic material sheets, in which a pocket for receiving a product, such a flat article, is formed by four seals encompassing the surface area defined by the article. One of the plastic sheet portions extends beyond the area of the pocket to define a flap portion into which there is punched a cutout to facilitate the package being suspended from a suitable display hook or the like. The flexible packages may be formed in series, with a severing or weakening line being formed to extend through the transverse seal between the article-containing pocket of each sequential package so as to allow for tearing off into individual separated packages. Although this provides for a relatively simple flexible plastic film or sheet package construction incorporating an article or product-receiving pocket and a projecting flap portion enabling suspension of the entire package from an object, the construction thereof requires the trimming of material along the edges of the package, thereby resulting in increased material costs, while necessitating the punching of cutouts into the flap to provide the hanger portion, with the concomitant requirement for separate punching dies. This will also increase the expenditures for different types of manufacturing apparatus and render the manufacturing procedure expensive.
Bumgarner, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,299 discloses a bag which is constituted of a plastic sheet material, such as polyethylene film, in which there is formed an open pocket for the insertion of a folded newspaper or the like, and in which a collar portion with a cutout is provided at one end for suspension from a doorknob, hook or the like. In this instance, the manufacture of the bag necessitates the folding and subsequent adherence of webs of plastic sheet material and the separate attachment thereto of strips for the collar or neck portion. This renders the entire bag manufacturing process complex and expensive, and does not readily lend itself to the formation of flexible pouches having sealed product-containing pockets and integral collar structure in a continuous "in-line" operation, so as to eliminate any need for special machinery or equipment and with practically no waste material, as is the case with the present invention.
Maxfield U.S. Pat. No. 2,146,308 discloses the continuous or sequential production of product-containing packages, in which a continuous web of a plastic film sheet material is folded into a tubular configuration about a tubular filler while being conducted along a downward path, and wherein a seal is formed along the longitudinal edge by the application of a second web, and a subsequent transverse seal is formed to allow for the formation of a pocket which is open at the upper end thereof, and into which product is then filled by the filler. Hereby, as the continuous web is conveyed downwardly, the formation of subsequent transverse seals produce a series of individual but interconnected sealed product-containing pouches which may thereafter be separated by being severed through the transverse seals so as to form separate pouches. In this instance, in order to allow for the provision of eyelets which will facilitate the pouches to be suspended from a display hook or the like, the longitudinally sealed edge provided by the second folded over web material has the eyelets punched therethrough, and reinforcing members inserted therein for enabling the suspension of each pouch without tearing of the pouch material. This procedure necessitates implementing an extremely complex manufacturing operation requiring the use of punching dies, and the insertion of rings or grommets into the eyelets. Consequently, both as to method and structure, Maxfield is not readily adapted to provide economically mass-produced product-containing flexible pouches of the type contemplated by the present invention.
Jones, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,819 discloses a recipe booklet which incorporates a flap member of plastic material having an aperture punched therein to form a collar structure for suspending the booklet from a container, such as from the neck of a bottle. In this instance, the overall structure is formed from individual components which must be folded, the flap member adhered thereto and the suspending aperture or opening punched therethrough in order to provide the bottle neck-engaging collar structure. Consequently, this necessitates equipment such as punching dies and adhesive applicators, thereby rendering the method of manufacture cumbersome and expensive.
Johnston, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,062 discloses a bag or container of a flexible material for dispensing a liquid, having extensions which are formed at opposite ends of the container to allow for the insertion of dispensing tubes at one end and for the formation of an aperture at the opposite end for suspending the bag in a vertical orientation from a hook or suitable support. In this case, the formation of the suspending bag portion and the other extensions requires the use of complex punching and forming equipment which does not readily lend itself to the simple "in-line" formation of the product-containing flexible pouches by a manufacturing method as contemplated by the present invention.
Similarly, Cammarata, III, U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,897 discloses a liquid-containing pouch of a flexible and collapsible material in which an extension at one end of the pouch includes an opening for suspending the pouch from a hook or suitable support. As in Johnston, et al., the construction of a flexible pouch of that type is of a relatively complex nature requiring the use of different types of apparatus, such as cutting, sealing and punching equipment, thereby rendering the manufacturing costs and material consumption extremely uneconomical, particularly when applied to the mass production of a simple type of flexible pouch which is provided for disposable or single-use purposes as contemplated by the present invention.
Weikert U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,306 discloses the formation of sealed packages from a continuous extruded tube of a flexible film material, in which transverse seals are formed to provide pockets open at an upper end, with a filling tube being inserted into the tube above the upper ends of each transverse seal, and subsequent to product being filled into each pocket, a longitudinal seal is then formed to seal each pocket across the transverse seals and excess material externally of the pocket is removed through the use of a rotary cutting tool which slits through both or opposite wall surfaces of the material. Moreover, the pouches are adapted to be severed within their transverse seals so as to provide individual and mutually separated pouches. This particular type of construction, although producing sealed pouches containing a product, does not enable the formation of collar-forming structure, and also requires a closed tube to be employed for forming the pouches while, subsequent to the finishing of each pouch, a considerable amount of excess material must be cut off and discarded, thereby leading to considerable material waste and increased costs while concurrently inhibiting the manufacture of such pouches from either a folded single web or laminated web construction. In essence, Weikert is only adapted to be employed with material formed by tubular extrusion, and does not lend itself to be utilized with various types of laminates as mentioned hereinabove.
Similarly, Barnett U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,413,686 and 2,362,459 each disclose the formation of pouches containing sealed pockets which, however, again do not provide for the formation of novel collar-forming structure analogous to that disclosed and contemplated by the present inventive method.
Other patents which relate to the formation of pouches or packages containing suspending collars, include Kent, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,267 which pertains to the application of a non-shrinkable tape to the exterior of a pouch of a heat shrinkable material; whereas German Patent 1 222 238 discloses the slitting of material from a web having pouches formed therein and then reattaching the separated material by means of a transverse heat seal to form carrying handles. This particular concept is also described in French Patent 2,228,681 which slits plastic packages to form integral handles reattached thereto by means of heat seals. Another patent of interest and of this type includes Waters U.S. Pat. No. 2,385,897 which includes a vertical filling device for forming continuous sequences of packages through a vertical feed sequence.
Finally, Barton U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,635,291 and 4,706,439 disclose the formation of sealed pouches in which a plurality or at least two parallel longitudinal slits are adapted to form an integral collar construction with a heat-sealed pouch containing a product. However, these particular methods and pouches as disclosed in the Barton patents require extremely complex slitting and sealing procedures and equipment, inasmuch as the multiple slits form a multiplicity of discrete material portions which must then be reattached through transverse heat seals in order to provide a collar structure which is offset from one end or edge of each pouch externally of a product-containing pocket.